Capital HQ for Stakis nurseries

GARETH MACKIE

THE SON of late Scots-Cypriot hotel magnate Sir Reo Stakis has chosen Edinburgh as the first location for his planned chain of nurseries.

Evros Stakis, 54, president of Stakis Daycare Nurseries, is about to complete the purchase of a building in the city centre, capable of accommodating between 90 and 100 children.

Although the firm is keeping the exact location under wraps for now, it is understood the facility will also act as an “academy” to train franchisees who come on board as it seeks to add as many as 80 ­locations.

Stakis said: “I am keen to establish the first Stakis Daycare Nursery in my native Scotland. I see providing high-quality care and pre-school teaching as an extension of my family’s caring philosophy that drives our success in both hotels and residential care.”

Having raised £150,000 under the UK government’s Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Stakis is embarking on a further funding round, worth up to £500,000, to establish more nurseries in London and Ireland.

The group is also seeking to expand elsewhere in the UK and overseas under its franchise model.

Stakis Daycare, which says the private nursery market is worth £4 billion a year, has also appointed Dr Graham Orp­wood, emeritus professor at York University in Ontario, to provide early learning in science and technology.

Orpwood was previously involved in a Canadian scheme to teach science and technology to more than two million pre-school children.

Stakis said he also wanted to offer literary, numeracy and language lessons to infants at his nurseries, adding: “I believe the early learning content will be a key differentiator in our product offering.”

Stakis is also chairman of Equinox Stakis Hotels, which aims to develop and manage hotels in the UK and Europe in partnership with San Franciso-based Equinox Hospitality.